HopeNov 6, 2022
An-Tim Nguyen 

Your Mastodon feed won't improve through passive engagement. There is no algorithm to suggest and share what you liked.

You must actively follow different people to see what they boost, and you must boost for other people to see. Some people are from different servers. You will see more of what they see organically. You can also hashtag to increase visibility.

There is no quote retweet either. You have to actively engage and comment in the thread.

#TwitterMigration

Nov 6, 2022 at 8:48amWeb
Show threadGeneviève Routhier 💟Nov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen thanks so much for all this info! Super helpful 🌈🌈🌈
Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 6, 2022
@bl00dberri Cheers! None of this is intuitive. But once you know and figure it out, that's the way to do it. It really highlights just how much work the algorithm actually does.
Show threadBrie FloryNov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen In unrelated news, thanks for giving me a bunch of folks to follow with how much your boosts have entered my feed.
Show threadGeneviève Routhier 💟Nov 6, 2022
@BrieFlory @antimnguyen that too!!! 🥰
Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 6, 2022
@bl00dberri @BrieFlory Keep paying it forward! All visibility is manual: it's more authentic because it reflects what we are genuinely excited about. There is no algorithm to do it for us.
Show threadGeneviève Routhier 💟Nov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen @BrieFlory
So right. And it’s kindof funny as I’d only been using Twitter for a few months, and yet I got 100% used to all the invisible stuff. Hopefully I can unlearn it quickly :)
Show threadLuis LevyNov 6, 2022
@BrieFlory @antimnguyen Same
Show threadMelissa Nov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen I think “quote toots” could be neat though. But so far I really love following all kinds of new people!
Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 6, 2022

@codecat the lack of quote toots is a deliberate design decision. I don't know if I fully agree yet but it definitely means that you have to engage more directly with people on Mastodon.

https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/99662106175542726

Show threadMelissa Nov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen I see! Perhaps it makes sense. I don’t mind replying to a toot and then boosting it later if I wanted to do both. 🤔
Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 6, 2022
@codecat Technically speaking, me just linking a toot was a quote toot, right? 🤔😅
Show threadMelissa Nov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen Haha I suppose that’s true. Probably depends on the client on what that actually looks like 🧐
Show threadCJ the Awkward LeftyNov 8, 2022
@antimnguyen @codecat I believe the difference is that linking doesn't notify the person their toot has been quoted. I'm not sure what the protocol is on Mastadon - do you tag people when linking their toots?
Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 8, 2022

@awkwardlefty_cj @codecat I don't think there is a protocol because trying to replicate a quote toot is not enough of a real general concept on Mastodon.

People tag each other all the time in posts though, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Show threadCJ the Awkward LeftyNov 8, 2022
@antimnguyen @codecat Sounds good. I've only been around for a couple days and I want to adapt myself to the culture here because I really like the vibe.
Show threadbryankamNov 9, 2022
@antimnguyen @codecat that's a good thing isn't it?
Show threadKim23Nov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen Thx for the tips! Learning!
Show threadben orpheo  🐾Nov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen I think it would be nice to somehow highlight specific threads. This was my understanding of "rt with comment" on Twitter.
Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 6, 2022

@beo Not having quote toots is a deliberate omission. However by linking this post, I'm basically doing the same thing. 😅

https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/99662106175542726

Show threadben orpheo  🐾Nov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen It's interesting. Maybe we should talk more about highlighting threads, idk. "Copy toot link" in a toot (to comment or highlight a specific thread or toot) does not notify the author.
Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 6, 2022
@beo yeah you'd have to tag the author. Mastodon requires you to be very active and specifically deliberate, which is a whole different dynamic.
Show threadohmi ▼・ᴥ・▼Nov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen I dig it! Feels more community based and reliant on human interaction. Time to break out hashtags again òwó
Show threadrocketman_76Nov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen thank you this is super helpful as a newbie.
Show threadHelen (She/Her)Nov 6, 2022

@antimnguyen Does that mean the ⭐️ is kinda redundant compared to the 👍🏻 on Twitter?

In some ways I like the 👍🏻 on Twitter as I know it’ll help boost things I agree with, without having to be mega ‘spammy’ in filling my timeline with things I don’t think my followers are interested in.

Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 6, 2022
@mimmymum starring posts on Mastodon is to let the poster know that you appreciate the post. It's only redundant if the goal of liking the post was to boost it, which it doesn't. They're just two discrete actions.
Show threadTrevor GildayNov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen New here, thanks for the tips. I was never super engaged on Twitter so this format will force me to be more social. Let's see where this goes.
Show threadAemstuzNov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen "There is no quote retweet either. You have to actively engage and comment in the thread.": This something I like. I don't get the difference between answering the tweet and quoting it.
Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 6, 2022
@aemstuz On Twitter, a quote retweet gets higher engagement with your own followers as if it were a new post, rather than just a reply that can get buried into a thread. It can usually be used as a way to increase explanation and context, which is also why people can also use it to dunk.
Show threadKryptykPhyshNov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen Passive-aggressivle "favouriting" for trolling purposes. 😆
Show threadOrlandosdqNov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen thanks for this intro to #mastodon ! Im new and trying to figure it out and your post helps a bit!
Show threadCoasterNov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen This is very useful information. I tend to be more passive; this will get me out of my shell. Thank you!
Show threadAemstuzNov 6, 2022

@antimnguyen Wait. You mean one can follow a porn account and as long as they don't boost porn toots, their followers won't see that?

Asking for a friend, ofc 😏 😅

Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 6, 2022
@aemstuz I think so. You have permission to be horny on main.
Show threadChristina HendriksNov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen I’m glad, death to the algorithms. People actually have to want the connections, which is how it should have been all along.
Show threadHeyJudeNov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen thank you. I’m new here and this was very helpful. Still trying to figure out how to boost and/or if one of the icons represent a boost.
Show threadChristina HendriksNov 6, 2022
@HeyJude @antimnguyen boost=RT
Show threadWolf480plNov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen as someone who hasn't used twitter for years, it's hilarious to me that the advice for people migrating from twitter is effectively a "how to use twitter 5 years ago" lol
Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 6, 2022
@wolf480pl Pretty much! It's easy how to take things for granted until you don't have them haha
Show threadRainbow Craftuli [COMM OPEN ]Nov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen Thanks for the info, really helpful since I just got here
Show threadKristin BransonNov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen I appreciate the design choice, just wanted to point out that some servers have a quote function added. I've used it sparingly.
Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 6, 2022
@kristinmbranson oh snap!
Show threadNafnlaus 🇮🇸 🇺🇦Nov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen Well, there kind of is a quote retweet. Copy the link, the write a toot on your own feed, and paste in the link. ;)
Show threadSilicon Valley ShennanigansNov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen Thanks and hopefully this won't become yet another dystopian hellscape on the intertubes.
Show threadMystMastMarcusNov 6, 2022

@antimnguyen i'm BRAND NEW here - thanks for this, it's helpful -

do we need to specify usernames fully including their domains? do we only see users on the same domain/server as us?

Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 7, 2022

@fearnot By default in your search bar, typing the username will show matches on your server. But typing the entire username address will find the specific person on the entire network.

You can find posts/boosts from anyone if you follow them. The more you do, the more you will discover regardless of server.

Show threadMystMastMarcusNov 7, 2022
@antimnguyen thank you, An-Tim, this is very helpful to get me going!
Show threadKris McCrackenNov 6, 2022
@antimnguyen It's an odd one. I'm cautiously optimistic that those expats from the Birdsite contribute to a positive and productive community rather than replicate the very worst excesses of collapsed empires.
Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 7, 2022
@ClumsyK the hope for the best outcome is education and resources.
Show threadaliciacollinNov 7, 2022
@antimnguyen Thank you! I def am making too many assumptions. I appreciate this!
Show threadElanNov 7, 2022

@antimnguyen That last part is kind of a mixed blessing, because it means the only way to engage with something someone said is to reply directly to them, even if you don't know them.

The Twitter quote-tweet feature was a way for people to comment *on* a person's post to their own audience, rather than directly to the stranger who posted it. Without it, people are funneled into becoming reply-guys.

Show threadScott CardenNov 7, 2022
@antimnguyen thanks, new here and appreciate the advice. I guess I’ll have to mend my lurking ways!
Show threadgNov 8, 2022
@antimnguyen there’s def an opportunity to fill a gap here. with no quote tweeting and no promotion of replies in peoples main feeds, it really dampens the conversational aspect
Show threadRyan CohenNov 8, 2022

@antimnguyen It's a bit of a challenge finding topics of interest since there is no real way to expose it without stumbling into it through the federated feed (if you are lucky), joining a server with a specific topic, or already knowing someones handle. Is there a better way to find discussion around certain topics?

Once you do find a thread though, it seems to become exponentially quicker to find others with shared interests.

Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 8, 2022
@sct a lot of it will be hashtag-driven: discoverability is essentially opt-in instead of default. If everything was discoverable/suggested by default, that's what the Federated Timeline is there for (which is both absolutely chaotic and humbling.)
Show threadRyan CohenNov 9, 2022
@antimnguyen makes sense. Hashtag discoverability is still limited based on what instances your server is aware of though right? I don’t fully understand what it takes for your server to start pulling in a larger portion of a remote server besides being in something like a relay. So far it’s seemed somewhat challenging with a smaller server.
Show threadAn-Tim Nguyen Nov 9, 2022
@sct I have no idea (I'm not an engineer 😅) but the source code is available for anyone who can read it.
Show threadRyan CohenNov 9, 2022
@antimnguyen alright I’ll take a look 👀
Show threadbethtravelNov 8, 2022
@antimnguyen thanks for the tips
Show threadLemNov 8, 2022
@antimnguyen Meh
Show threadꙀipNov 8, 2022

@antimnguyen What I'm supprised to see compared to Twitter is, that here giving 'boosts' seems to be the norm compared to 'likes'. So it's the other way around, where on Twitter 'likes' were always more in number than 'retweets'.

I still have to get used to the absence of a boosting algorythm, but I think it's pretty neat! More control over what is shared :D